Middle East
Israel’s Election Produces No Clear Winner, High-Stakes Coalition Race Begins
Israel’s October 27 election produced no clear winner, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc nor former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar-led bloc securing the 61 seats needed for a majority. Preliminary results indicate Likud and allies won 53 seats, Yashar and allies 48, and Arab-led parties 19. Eisenkot declared the election a rejection of “the culture of lies, of failure, of division and incitement,” saying, “We have made history.”